The present invention is related to solid state circuit breakers, and in particular to a system and method for controlling turnoff of a solid state circuit breaker.
Circuit breakers are used in systems to prevent damage to a circuit in the event of a fault within the circuit. If a fault such as a short circuit occurs, an over-current condition is detected and the switch is automatically opened, cutting off power and preventing any damage to the circuit. In the past, this has been accomplished using electromechanical switches. These switches can experience problems with arcing during turnoff and bouncing during turn-on. Because of this, electromechanical circuit breakers can experience severe degradation over time. Further, electromechanical switches are often large and bulky, increasing the necessary size and weight of the circuit breaker.
In order to remedy the problems of electromechanical circuit breakers, solid state circuit breakers are often used. Solid state circuit breakers utilize solid state power switches which provide relatively fast response times compared to electromechanical switches, and are very small, which is ideal for systems such as those on an aircraft. These solid state switches also do not suffer from problems of arcing during turn-off transient, and bouncing during turn-on transient. However, solid state switches can encounter problems with electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise during switching and overvoltage stress on the solid state switching device during turnoff transient.